Here. "There is no debating, however, one clear, very widespread result of
these programs: The justice system is now facing what legal experts
call, "the CSI effect," a TV-bred demand by jurors for high tech,
indisputable forensic evidence before they will convict. " But it is debatable; here's a story about research done by criminal defense lawyer turned media prof. Kimberlianne Podlas at UNC-Greensboro debunking the CSI effect. [Jack Chin]

Inmates and their lawyers fear that exonerating DNA samples might have been lost in the storm and flood. However, authorities say that many Dna samples were saved from the basement of the Orleans Parish Criminal Court before the flood hit. [Jack Chin

From CNN.com: "CONROE, Texas (AP) -- A man who spent 18 years in prison for sexual assault was freed Thursday after DNA evidence exonerated him, and his brother admitted responsibility for the attack. DNA testing was not available at Arthur Mumphrey's 1986 trial for the rape of a 13-year-old girl, but recent tests requested by his attorney showed Mumphrey's blood and saliva samples did not match stains on the victim and her clothes...Prosecutor Marc Brumberger apologized to Mumphrey. "We feel terrible about what happened to you," he said. Mumphrey's brother, Charles, confessed to the rape this week while serving time in jail for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He is unlikely to face charges in the sexual assault because the statute of limitations has expired, but the information could be used against him in sentencing if he is convicted of another crime and if DNA results support the confession." [Mark Godsey]

From Day to Day: "Madeleine Brand speaks with Jessica Sanders, director of the documentary After Innocence. The film follows the stories of seven men convicted of felonies, sent to prison and later exonerated by DNA evidence. Sanders tracks the lives the men through different stages of re-settlement into society." Listen to the commentary here. [Mark Godsey]

From CNN.com: RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- Gov. Mark R. Warner on Thursday ordered DNA evidence retested to determine whether a man convicted of rape and murder was innocent when he was executed in 1992. If the testing shows Roger Keith Coleman did not rape and kill his sister-in-law in 1981, it will mark the first time in the United States a person has been exonerated by scientific testing after his execution, according to death penalty opponents. Warner said he ordered the tests because of technological advances that could provide a level of forensic certainty not available in the 1980s.

UPDATE: NO. DNA testing supports guilt. But: One scientist explains the limits of DNA evidence; given other circumstances, the test could not be conclusive.

After preliminary investigations of the Houston Police Department's crime laboratory revealed errors in approximately 1/3 of all cases, Michael Bromwich, former U.S. DOJ inspector general, is leading an investigation of 56 error-ridden DNA cases. The investigation aims to uncover whether the errors resulted from honest mistakes or whether the crime labs tailored their faulty results to incriminate certain suspects. [Mark Godsey]

House, Paul Gregory v. Bell, Ricky (warden)

Questions presented: (1) Did the majority below err in applying the Supreme Court's decision in Schlup v. Delo to hold that petitioner's compelling new evidence, though presenting at the very least a colorable claim of actual innocence, was as a matter of law insufficient to excuse his failure to present that evidence before the state courts - merely because he had failed to negate each and every item of circumstantial evidence that had been offered against him at the original trial? (2) What constitutes a "truly persuasive showing of actual innocence" pursuant to Herrera v. Collins sufficient to warrant freestanding habeas relief?

Ill-trained cops have been replaced by trained civilians in the Boston Police Department crime lab fingerprint unit. Last year, a person was wrongfully convicted of a cop shooting based on flawed fingerprint analysis. Story here. [Jack Chin]

Canton, Ohio man Clarence Elkins was exonerated last week from a life sentence for double rape and murder. The lead counsel in the Elkins case was Cincinnati CrimProf Mark Godsey and the Ohio Innocence Project, which he directs. Also representing Elkins were Jana DeLoach of Akron and pro bono attorneys at Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. Weil Gotshal and Manges of NYC helped on amicus. Three things about the Elkins case are unusual. First, the defense team exonerated Elkins by identifying the true killer through DNA testing. An indictment against the true perp is expected soon. Second, Elkins acted as his own detective, scooping up a cigarette butt abandoned by the primary suspect, who was a fellow inmate with Elkins, and mailing it off to lab for DNA testing (it matched the crime scene DNA). Third, the case resulted in a faceoff between the AG of Ohio, Jim Petro, and the local prosecutor who refused to release Elkins even after the DNA results clearly exonerated him. Petro's bully pulpit ultimately helped force the prosecutor to back off. Elkins spent 7.5 years in prison before being released on Thursday with all charges dropped. The case will be featured this week on A&Es "American Justice," Geraldo Rivera, Good Morning America and the CBS' Early Show, among others.

Here's a weird one: Some unknown woman's DNA has been showing up in tests done on evidence in Tucson and Florida. The DNA does not match the victims or suspects, and given the variety and geography of crimes, it may be more likely to be contamination than that there is an unknown woman on national crime spree. Story here. [Jack Chin]